Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an anti-snoring device for positioning within the mouth cavity of a person.
Description of the Prior Art
The noise made during breathing when asleep (snoring) is, in particular, very disruptive for people in the vicinity of the snorer. In addition, snoring may even pose a risk to the health of the snorer, for example in the case of obstructive sleep apnoea. Snoring is generally produced by weak muscle tone of the neck muscles during sleep. The airways become narrowed until they close completely (apnoea). This leads to an increased air flow and to the generation of noise by the structures that droop during movement. Muscle tension naturally decreases in older individuals in the throat region, which is why this group of people snore more often than younger individuals.
A wide range of devices, aids and breathing masks to prevent snoring are known, including surgical procedures.
Operations generally remove the structures preventing breathing, such as enlarged tonsils, polyps, etc. However, the success rate with regard to snoring varies very widely from 20-40%. According to many reports the relapse rate is very high.
A breathing mask provides continuous positive airway pressure and therefore holds the airways open. Since it is a very expensive and complex piece of equipment that is uncomfortable for the snorer, it is primarily indicated in severe cases of apnoea.
Intraoral devices are worn at night and generally displace the lower jaw in a forward direction so as to open the pharyngeal portion of the airways. The base of the tongue is also entrained with the lower jaw in a forward direction, thus making it possible to open the airways. Success can be achieved using these devices, but they are usually found to be very cumbersome by the wearer as a result of their construction and design.
Known oral anti-snoring devices representative of a large number of known generic devices can be inferred from the following documents:
DE 40 26 602 C1 discloses a device for preventing snoring comprising a prosthesis part that is fixed to the teeth and to which a bow is attached via a spring mechanism in such a way that, on the one hand, the tongue is pressed away from the posterior soft palate and, on the other hand, the tongue can be pressed against the palate during swallowing.
EP 0 312 368 B1 discloses a modified mouthpiece as an anti-snoring device, onto which the teeth of the upper jaw bite, a lower sliding connecting member pressing the mouthpiece toward the mouth cavity opening against the inner faces of the teeth of the lower jaw, whereby the lower jaw is pushed forward and the distance between the tongue and the soft palate is enlarged.
EP 0 254 918 A1 discloses an upper and lower jaw plate comprising inserted magnets that hold both jaws at a specific distance by opposed magnetic repulsion.
DE 27 04 709 A1 represents a normal gag.
EP 0 599 445 A1 discloses a device with rigid fixing of the upper jaw and loose fixing of the lower jaw. The oral side of the device is configured in such a way that the tongue can be placed in a sucking position.
WO 92/05752 discloses a device comprising a palate plate and a mouth base plate that simultaneously push the lower jaw forward and force the wearer to breathe through their nose. Two variants are disclosed: one in which the device is fixed to the teeth, and one in which the device sits freely in the mouth.
WO 92/09249 discloses a device for preventing tongue thrust, teeth grinding and snoring. Adapted to the tongue and teeth, the device holds the tongue forward by suction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,346 discloses a device for the upper jaw comprising a ramp for the lower jaw to push the lower jaw forward, and a breathing opening between the upper jaw part and the lower jaw ramp.
DE 23 20 501 C3 discloses a device that is similarly constructed to an orthodontic activator and comprises an additional labial and adjustable lip shield. The lower jaw is pushed forward by muscle activity and corresponding grinding guides in the device for the teeth. However, the muscles still droop during sleep and muscle tone is decreased or cancelled out completely.
The main drawback of known devices is that the devices are decidedly uncomfortable to wear owing to their voluminous expansion, their constraints caused by a bite guard, their pressure on the tongue or soft palate parts, and the restricted freedom of movement of the lower jaw and tongue. The feeling of a large, annoying foreign body in the mouth prevents the snorer from falling asleep, which generally leads to the devices not being used.